


A Future Tense

by brilligspoons



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Collection: Purimgifts Day 1, Gen, Kid Fic, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-22
Updated: 2013-02-22
Packaged: 2017-12-03 05:00:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/694436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brilligspoons/pseuds/brilligspoons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lydia Martin, age 8 and one month, tries to grow up before her time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Future Tense

**Author's Note:**

  * For [darthjamtart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/darthjamtart/gifts).



The ninth time Lydia's parents try to leave her with a sitter for a few hours, she's a month past her eighth birthday and furious about the fact that she's not allowed to stay home alone yet.

"I'm not scared," she tells her mother.

"I never said you were, sweetheart," is the only reply Mrs. Martin provides.

Lydia waits until Laura Hale's parents drop her off and leave before she starts crying and screaming and throwing all of her stuffed animals at her bedroom door. She can hear her parents reassuring Laura that Lydia's _not always like this_ , and _it must be the full moon_ , that she's _actually a very sweet little girl_. Lydia increases the intensity of her screams, and normally that's enough to have either the sitter or the Martins backing down and calling it a night. She takes a breath and listens, but whatever Laura says is muffled by the door and the distance.

_It's working,_ Lydia thinks as she picks up a book and hurls it at the door. _It has to be._ She has it down to a science, and the only left to do now is wait for Mr. Martin to come up and tell her they're not leaving after all.

She's surprised when her parents push into her bedroom, kiss her wet, flushed cheeks, and tell her to be good for Laura while they're gone.

The front door shuts behind them as Lydia howls in childish rage, this time for real. A few moments later, the ignition in Mr. Martin's new E-class turns over, and by the time the faint sound of tire scraping forward on pavement reaches the house, Lydia's cheeks are dry and back to their normal porcelain shade. She stomps down the stairs and into the living room, where Laura is lying flat on the chaise lounge just in front of the television.

"You're still here," says Lydia, frowning at her.

"Your recovery time is pretty good," Laura says. "My little brother used to be better, but it's impressive."

" _Why_ are you still here?"

"Because my parents won't buy the car I want without me contributing, and I'm close to actually reaching my goal," she replies, "and also your mom gave me enough dinner money for the good pizza place in town."

Lydia considers her options. Her parents are already gone, so it's not like she can get rid of Laura _now_. She needs to make sure Laura never comes back, is the thing, and giving grownups a hard time is Lydia's second favorite thing in the world.

"I don't like pizza," Lydia says.

"Too bad, missy, because pizza is the only thing on tonight's menu."

Lydia stamps her foot and glares at Laura. "I don't like pizza," she repeats, attempting to use the same tone her mother uses whenever her father does something she thinks is stupid. "It's a _finger food_ , which means it's _messy_."

"If that's seriously your only reason for not liking pizza, I have three words for you," Laura says. "Fork and knife. And napkins. Okay, that was five words, but whatever. I'm guessing you know what those things are."

Lydia clenches her hands into fists. She looks around the room for something to throw, and she's just about to grab one of the hardcover books on the endtable when she notices that the back porch light is on. _That's it,_ she thinks, and then she runs for the door.

"I don't want pizza!" she yells again for effect, throwing the back door open and rushing outside and into the woods behind the house.

She hears Laura yell something, but she doesn't stop. She's not about to let a _babysitter_ tell her what to do, and it's not like there's anything dangerous in -

A low growl startles Lydia, and she trips over a root and falls to her knees. Everything's a lot darker here than by her house, the air suddenly thick, and her heart starts to race. She gets up from the ground and turns around in a circle until she sees the light from the porch. She starts to walk back in that direction, but there's another growl behind her. It sounds closer than the last one. She stops and stands very still. Her breathing speeds up, and she feels hot tears slip down across her cheeks. She wipes them away angrily.

_Nothing there,_ she thinks. _I'm a big girl, and there's nothing there._

A twig snaps. Lydia doesn't move, and a second later Laura emerges from the shadows.

"You shouldn't be out here," she says, greeting followed by a chorus of growls.

Lydia shudders, then turns to face Laura. "I'm not scared," she says. "There's nothing out there."

Laura looks at her. The sound of something big crashing through the trees and away from them cuts through the silence. Lydia wipes at her face again and forces herself to hold her head up as she marches back in the direction of the house, Laura following.

Once inside, Lydia sits down at the kitchen table and stares at the surface.

"So," says Laura, "pizza?"

"Okay," Lydia says. "Plain cheese only, though." She hesitates, then says, "Mom and Dad are going to be angry with me."

Laura pats her on the shoulder as she walks past to grab the phone and delivery menu. "Pretty sure you can handle them, kid," she says. "You'll be okay."

And Lydia believes her.

***

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=15gxs9c)

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=15d9ba)


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